Clothesline fastener



Jame 28 19270 F ALEXANDER CLOTHESLINE FASTENER Filed March 28. 1927 Patented June 28, 1927.

FREDERICK ALEXANDE R, OF EAST ST. LOUIS, ILLINOIS.

cLoTHEsLInn' FASTENER.

Application filed March 28, 1927. Serial No. 178,932.

The object of this invention is to provide an extremely simple and eliicient device for holding the end or intermediate portion of a rope, wire, cable, or similar device firmly but which will permit of the same being quickly and readily released.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a clothes line having both ends held by the fastener constituting the present invention.

Figure 2 is an elevation of the fastener in position on a support.

Figure 3 is a vertical section of the support showing the fastener in edge elevation.

Figure 4.- is a section on the line -l4 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a diagrammatic view showing different manners in which the line may be held by the fastening device.

The invention comprises a single piece of metal 1 which is bent near its center on a transverse line so that the top 3 and bottom 2 thereof are both inclined away from a vertical plane passing through the point of attachment of the body 1. The fastener is attached to any suitable support such as a post A or corner of a building B by means of a staple 4: which passes through the body portion in two points lying in the line of the an bend. Instead of a staple two nails or simition which contacts with the support.

lar devices may be employed. The staple is not driven into the support as tightly as possible but is left somewhat loose so that the fastener may oscillate about its central pfir- 1e top portion is preferably provided with a central notch 5.

There are shown in Figure 5 three ways in which the line C may be held by the fastener. In one of these forms the line passes between the lower part 2 and the support, thence up over the face of the fastenenaround one arm of the notch and through the notch back down over the face of the fastener. In another form the line C passes between the portion 2 and the support and from thence to the top without passing over the face of the support, down through the notch 5. In the third way of using the device, the line may be first passed between the part 2 and the support, thence upward and between the part 3 and the support without passing through said notch at all, and finally down ward and again between the part 2 and the support.

In all ways of using the device, advantage is taken of the fact that since the whole fasener can oscillate about a central portion slightly if the line C is drawn up between the part 2 and the support it will tend to rock the fastener, bringing the part 3 closer to the support. If the line then passes down between the part 3 and the support, it is obvious that this will tend to rock the fastener in the other direction and a very slight pull will jam both parts of the line firmly between the fastener and the support. The greater the pull on the line when in use, the tighter it will be held. hen it is desired to'exert considerable tension upon the line it will be preferably passed through the notch and can be drawn therethrough. the pull thereon causing the part 2 to gripthe line firmly. Although nails or other fastening devices may be used instead of the staple indicated, it is essential that the fastener shall have no movement except the slight rocking movement about the transverse line of the bend as indicated. When held in this way, it cannot turn or slip so as to allow the line to become released. By allowing the fastener to rock in this manner it enables the line to be jammed between one or both ends thereof so that a line may be drawn very tight and held thus without any danger of slippin It will be noted that the bottom portion 2 is shorter than the top portion 3 and when the line is drawn under the bottom portion andover the notch 5 in the top, a much greater leverage will be obtained by means of the different lengths'of these two portions. It is possible, therefore, to grip the line very tightly by the bottom ortion by means of a pull on the line passing through said notch.

It is obvious that the construction is ex tremely simple and can be manufactured ."ata very low cost. It can be applied wherever desired by driving a single staple or two nails and no care is necessary in its application except that the staple must not be driven tightly enough to prevent the desired rocking movement of the fastener.

Minor changes may be made and the precise inclination of the parts of the fastener to each other may be varied particularly dependent upon the size of the cord or line with which it is to be used. As also indicated the manner of use may be varied considerably and all such changes are regarded hill as falling Within the spirit of the invention which is to be considered as limited only by the scope of the appended claim.

I claim as my invention:

A device of the class described adapted to hold a rope and comprising a support. a body member bent on a trans\'*erse line intermediate its ends to form two branches one of Which has a notch in its end, and means 

